Polio Eradication 2018

As of 13 February, there had been three reported WPV1 cases with an onset of paralysis in 2018, in Afghanistan.[62][119] Positive environmental-monitoring samples show the virus continues to circulate in Pakistan.[115] In Banadir province, Somalia, environmental samples positive for cVDPV2, related to those on the previous year, were again detected, confirming circulation of the virus.[115]

For a polio virus to be certified as eradicated world-wide, at least three years of good surveillance without cases needs to be achieved,[56] though this period may need to be longer for a strain like WPV3, where a lower proportion of those infected demonstrate symptoms.[57]

Oral polio vaccine is highly effective and inexpensive (about US$0.10 per dose, or US$0.30 per child[12]) and its availability has bolstered efforts to eradicate polio.